Finding an idiom starting with the letter U presents a challenge, forcing me to pick an old expression du jour.

User ses Fonds de Culotte/User ses Fonds de Culotte sur les Bancs d’une Ecole

To Wear Out the Seat of One’s Pants / To Wear Out the Seat of One’s pants on a School Bench

To Study for Several Years in the Same School

I’m pretty sure that young French people don’t use this expression anymore. I haven’t said it much myself and have mostly read it. However, it is an interesting idiom for a couple of reasons.

“Culotte” is an old French word for “Pants.”

“Culottes” are also female underwear in France. French women almost always add “petites” before “culottes.” We all know that anything cute and expensive needs the adjective “Little” or “Petit(e).” Think little black dress…

In any case, you can really wear out the seat of your pants or underwear if you remain seated for a long time.

My husband gives an ironic twist to this expression and thinks that it’s attributed to failing students who repeat a year.

I, on the other side, think that the expression is said about students who’ve been to the same school.

“On avait usé nos fonds de culottes sur les mêmes bancs.”

Literally: “We’d wore out the seat of our pants on the same school benches.”

Or “We’d been at school together.”

I’m asking the French people: What do you think?

Qu’en pensez-vous les français?

See you tomorrow!

Some letters in our alphabet offer more options in terms of expressions than others.  Choosing one for the letter du jour was a challenge.

Ultimately I didn’t go with Sans Tambour Ni Trompette, although it went really well the letter T. Without Drum nor Trumpet is the French version of Without Fanfare. Nice but too similar.

Last week a book at my local library caught my eye.

The title is a very visual English idiom, so I simply looked for its French equivalent, which sounds as visual to my French eye and yet a little more twisted.

TIRER LE DIABLE PAR LA QUEUE

TO PULL THE DEVIL BY THE TAIL

TO LIVE FROM HAND TO MOUTH

As a child who loved stories I remember how much I learned when I listened to neighbors, merchants, and family members talk with my mother. Sometimes an expression struck my vivid imagination. This particularly visual expression was one of them.

For all French people Tirer le Diable par la Queue is used to illustrate financial difficulties leading to poverty.

One says that a poor person often ends up begging the devil for help, when all other options have been exhausted (and maybe pulling the tail to get the devil’s full attention?).

But according to Claude Duneton, my favorite French author when it comes to expressions and the French language in general, this meaning is fairly recent.

Before the 17^th century, Tirer le Diable par la Queue meant to work humbly to make a living. There was no reference to financial stress and poverty.

Why then pulling the devil’s tail? Duneton himself doesn’t provide a definite explanation.

I will leave it that way, too, realizing that popular expressions don’t always need an exact explanation to remain explicit for a large group of people.

See you tomorrow!

As I plow my way, letter after letter, through the alphabet and French idioms, I am more and more aware that the French language is packed with such expressions. While I will always consider the English language very strong and capable to produce impeccable sentences and expertly crafted prose, the French language can be very visual, with its frequent use of food, animals, and even objects as metaphors to express a popular idea.

The idiom du jour for the letter S illustrates, in my opinion, this very French skill.

SAVONNER LA PLANCHE (A QUELQU’UN)

TO RUB THE BOARD WITH SOAP (AGAINST SOMEONE)

TO MAKE LIFE DIFFICULT FOR SOMEBODY

This French expression is based on the metaphor of the “Planche” (Board, Plank) used as a trajectory whose end would be the accomplishment of a specific work.

The area rubbed with soap would make an opponent slip, keeping him away from his goals. The French use also the metaphor of a banana peel for the same meaning.

The photo above doesn’t exactly illustrates the idiom. But I love the scene that represents a French woman of the past at the washhouse, where boards and soap were also used to wash sheets and clothes.

Dit-on toujours autant “Savonner la Planche” en France? Do you know of a similar idiom in English?

See you tomorrow!

The French verb “Rouler” has several meanings. In the idiom du jour “Rouler” means “To Deceive.”

ROULER QUELQU’UN DANS LA FARINE

TO ROLL SOMEOME IN FLOUR

PULL THE WOOL OVER SOMEONE’S EYES

In addition to “Rouler” there is the “Farine” or “Flour.”

In the older days comedians used flour as facial makeup and would then be unrecognizable from their public. The combo of “Rouler” and “Farine” reinforces the deceiving meaning of the expression.

However, it is common in France to drop the addition of the flour.

You can say, “Je me suis fait rouler,” meaning “I’ve been deceived,” or “Je l’ai roulé,” meaning “I’ve deceived him.”

I know of a few more explicit ways to express the same idea, in both French and English, but if you agree we won’t go there…

However if you know of another interesting idiom that tells of deception, go ahead.

See you tomorrow!

One of the nicest experiences during this crazy A to Z challenge is to meet new people and to strenghten the virtual friendships with loyal readers. And sometimes along the way someone gives you a small gift that makes you warm and happy.

My friend Claire writes about books, places, and books that take you places. For the letter P she chose Paris and my novel Trapped in Paris. Talk of a nice Pat on my back.  I encourage anyone who loves picture books, middle grade novels and YA novels to pay Claire a visit. I bet you’ll decide to subscribe to her blog. Her A to Z challenge theme Read Your World With Kids’ Books will take you through a unique and very well researched field trip.

Thank you, Claire!

My French idiom du jour doesn’t have a literal translation but an easy English equivalent.

A LA QUEUE LEU LEU

IN SINGLE LINE OR QUEUE

Mothers who raise their children away from their native land know how complex it can be. I am no exception.

On one hand, I wanted my children to speak fluent English. On the other, I also knew that bilingualism is a terrific asset.

So until my children entered preschool I spoke French and only French at home. And once in a while, a song, a story, and sometimes just an expression hit a chord with my children.

A la Queue Leu Leu became an instant favorite.

In the French folklore wolves play a large role. These animals travel in pack and often one behind another. It appears that the noun “Leu” in the expression could be an old form for “Loup,” or “Wolf.” The noun “Queue” means “Tail.” So it would make sense that a wolf walking right behind another would also follow its tail.

In any case, despite the old age of this expression, I don’t think “A la Queue Leu Leu” has died yet.

Etes-vous d’accord les français?

Recently my oldest daughter, who is part of an early childhood education program on a college campus in California, told me that her group of three and four-years-old enjoyed French words and songs.

“They love the expression ‘A la Queue Leu Leu’ most,” she said. “So when I want them to stand in single line that’s what I say. Now they even use the expression after recess, when they have to get back in class.”

You never know what your children will remember of your teaching.  Sometimes a simple but fun-sounding expression can leave its mark and transcend linguistic barriers.

See you tomorrow!

This journey through the alphabet is a fun way to show how expressions don’t always have an equivalent when translated, and also to illustrate how literal translations always sound awkward.

POSER UN LAPIN

TO SET A RABBIT DOWN

TO STAND SOMEBODY UP

The expression, dating from the late 19^th century, was first used when someone didn’t pay for a service or a favor. Over the years it lost this initial meaning. Poser un lapin is now simply used when someone doesn’t respect a prior engagement and doesn’t show up at an appointment, leaving you waiting for nothing.

A note about appointment: There is only one word in French for Appointment and this is Rendez-vous (hyphenated).

The French call to book a rendez-vous with their dentist, physician, hair stylist, their children’s teachers, friends, and special ones.

Returning to “Poser un Lapin”, do you know of a better way to say “Stand Somebody Up” in English?

Et vous les français, est-ce qu’une nouvelle expression a remplacé celle ci?

See you tomorrow!

The English equivalent of the French idiom of the jour can also be said in French.

ôter une épine du pied.

To remove a thorn from somebody’s foot

To take a weight off somebody’s shoulders

However I like the one I picked best. We all know how painful it is to get a thorn stuck under the skin. Often we need in fact someone’s help to pull it out.

This French expression originates from the 15^th century, when the noun “thorn” meant also “difficulty” and by extension an embarrassing and painful situation.

Wherever you live, whatever language you speak, do you know of a similar expression?

See you tomorrow!

It’s always fun for me when expressions in French and English have something in common. Like today.

NOYER LE POISSON

DROWN THE FISH

DUCK THE ISSUE

I’ve heard and said this French idiom countless times without even thinking twice that the metaphor is strange. Isn’t it impossible to drown a fish?

The English version is using a duck and not a fish as a metaphor. I figure that fish and duck swimming sometimes through murky waters can suggest confusion.

Noyer le poisson or duck the issue pursue the same goal anyway: Creating confusion to avoid facing a problem or having a frank discussion about a delicate topic. Noyer (To Drown) is in fact one of the French verbs that’s used when too many details are provided to describe a situation, often when people are embarrassed to talk about this specific situation or need to hide an element they don’t want to share.

Bamboozle is the English verb that comes to my mind when I think of confusion. I discovered the meaning of this strange-sounding verb through Bamboozled, a picture book that my oldest daughter adored when she was a preschooler. Her siblings have loved it as much.

Would Bamboozle be a good equivalent to the French verb Noyer, in its figurative meaning?

P.S. The fish on the photo was caught (and released) by my son a couple of summers ago in Maine.

See you tomorrow!

Like a menu the French idiom-du-jour is all about food.

MI-FIGUE MI-RAISIN

HALF-FIG HALF-GRAPE

HALF IN EARNEST HALF IN JEST  (more British than American, right?)

Ambiguous and Mixed come to my mind as well as one of my favorite adjectives: “Bittersweet.” What do you think?

One said that during Lent people ate figs and grapes, favoring the latest to the former. One also said that the Corinthian merchants added figs to the raisins they sold, probably to increase their profit. In any case, French people say, “Mi-Figue Mi-Raisin” when they want to express ambiguous feelings about someone or something.

A quick but important note: The French say Raisins for Grapes and Raisins Secs (dried grapes) for Raisins.

Thirteen more letters to go! Thank you for keeping up with me with the second half of the alphabet, more challenging than the first.

See you tomorrow!